DEH Oneshots/drabbles/shitposts

Cough (Conman)

It all started with a cough.

Jared was there when Connor began to feel under the weather. He force fed him cough drops and held him home from work every day that Connor presented with the slightest fever. Jared was worried. He didn't like the flu, or a cold, or any sickness that Connor could have had. It made him uneasy to know that Connor felt terrible and didn't bother to express to Jared how bad it was.

Connor didn't want him to worry.

Which made Jared worry more.

"You're going to the doctor," Jared spoke sadly, giving a sickly Connor a water bottle. "You've been sick for weeks."

"Jared I'm just... in just a little under the weather," Connor insisted, yawning as he shakily accepted the water bottle. He seriously hated worrying Jared. More than anyone else, Jared was always there for him. Just because he felt sick didn't mean Jared had to feel bad as well.

"I don't care." Jared crossed his arms. He sat down next to Connor, giving him a sad look. "A cold would have gone away by now, Con. It's best to just get you checked out to be safe."

And though he didn't want to, Connor agreed.

At least it would put Jared's worry to rest.

When the boys arrived at the doctors office, there was no one there. It may have been because it was a Thursday morning, but that didn't make it any less strange. In their town, sickness normally spread like wildfire, and to see no one there at eleven AM was the first of many bad omens.

Frankly, Jared was quite vexed with the amount of time it took for the doctors to see them. No one else was there. What were they waiting for?

The had scanned Connor for everything they could think of, but his cough was unexplainable. It wasn't a cold, and it wasn't strep, so what was it?"

"I'm ordering an MRI," the doctor had stated at the end of their appointment, much to the boys' surprise. It terrified Jared. Connor went pale. Both of them shook, knowing they couldn't quite afford something so expensive and daunting, but they took the doctor's advice.

They wished they hadn't.

They really wished they hadn't.

Connor was hospitalized the day his MRI came back, with a stage three cancerous tumor in his left lung.

That tumor ruined their lives.

The doctors couldn't remove all of it. The only option was aggressive chemo four days a week. They could barely afford to have him in the ER for a night, let alone weeks of his life pumping Connor full of drugs that were more aggressive than the cancer itself.

The day was May fourth, when Jared finally broke.

He was sitting in the hospital room, Connor next to him, asleep. He had felt the growing fear in his chest every time Connor's heart seemed to slow, but he would always stay there, exhausted, breathing.

Jared knew it was no way to live.

And seeing him like that, for what seemed like the millionth night in a row; it made him sick.

Jared found himself begin to cry, careful not to arouse Connor. He needed rest. Both of them did, but Jared didn't know what that was, anymore. He found himself begin to sob, grabbing Connor's hand. "You know," he whispered. "Con, you're... you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

He sucked in a terrified, shaky breath.

"I love you. I know you know this. I know you're hurting right now, and so am I... but you know that too. I think... I think the only reason you actually are here fighting is for me." He shook his head. "This is a losing battle, Con. We both know it is. You're sick. It hurts. But I can't... I can't watch you suffer, especially if I know it's for me." He squeezed his hand, a tear falling like a raindrop from the heavens, down to Connor's cold skin. "So this is what I'm saying," He squeaked. "I'm letting you go. It's your decision whether or not you want to live and be miserable for me, or if you want to set yourself free." He sucked in another quick breath. "But know that I want you, I'm begging you, for once in your life, be selfish, Connor Murphy."

And he did.

That night, two hours after Jared had spilled his guts, Connor murphy passed away, holding Jared's hand in his.

—a/n—

this was originally written for a challenge where my short story couldn't exceed 750 words, so that's why it is so short, whoops :0

anyway,

that's all, folks!
signing off,
—trickster